3 things you learned with Bill Spadea: The fight over the PennEast pipeline and more

Today's show featured more battles over those "third rail" topics in NJ. We had callers on both sides of the fence on the PennEast pipeline project calling in, as well as my rant on an outrageous statement made by Senator Cory Booker.

We had a ton of reaction to the discussion over the PennEast pipeline debate. It's contentious and controversial but it really shouldn't be. This whole idea of natural gas, it's clean and safe, plus it is cost-effective. 75-80% f the homes in NJ are already using it, so the gas is already here. So do we need more of it? I say yes because it reduces the use on coal and other forms of energy that are somewhat dirtier than natural gas.

One of our NJ lawmakers who is opposed to the pipeline project, Senator Kip Bateman, called in to explain why NJ doesn't need it.

Senator Bateman explains, "We have a surplus of natural gas and the concern is the route that they've selected. It goes through some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in the state. Streams, forests, land that has been purchased with the open space money. The route is terrible. Every community along the route has passed a resolution including Mercer County and Hunterdon County, opposing it because of the damage to the environment."

Listen to his full interview and reasoning below.

To defend the PennEast Project, Spokesperson Pat Kornick called in soon thereafter to explain why this would be a good idea for New Jersey. Kornick explains that these pipelines can run without issue to the environment.

Kornick stated " We're fortunate that we don't have to choose between providing warmth to families or protecting the families. There are 2.6 million miles of pipeline across the United States that demonstrate quite nicely how open space and farming can and do exist harmoniously."
Listen to my full interview with Pat Kornick below.

Later on, Tom Bracken, the President of the NJ State Chamber of Commerce, called in to defend the project as well, saying that from an economic standpoint, this is a golden opportunity for the Garden state.

Bracken stated "Natural gas is our #1 energy supply vehicle and we have to take advantage of that." Bracken went on to state that for NJ to recover economically, the natural gas pipeline can be a conduit to growth for the state. "We have to have the supply of gas for us to grow. We don't have that right now."

Listen to the full interview with Tom Bracken below.

Cory Booker compares terrorist attacks to lead in NJ's water

Cory Booker sparked controversy after comparing terrorist attacks to elevated levels of lead in Newark water. Newark is desperately trying to deal with dangerous elevated levels of lead in their school's water. Essentially, Booker likened NJ's lead in the water to terrorist attacks. This statement Booker made, released just days after San Bernadino and Brussels attack, is insulting to every American that experienced a loss during those horrific events. Listen to more of my rant on Cory Booker's comparison below.